The present invention relates to a stair-climbing wheelchair carrier on which a wheelchair with a disabled passenger seated therein is mounted for the transportation of the disabled to go up and down stairs as well as along the ground such as a concourse of a station.
Japanese Utility Model Publication 2-3985 the application of which was filed by the same applicant as the present one discloses a stair-climbing wheelchair carrier that incorporates a wheelchair carrier portion having a pair of crawlers each of which is provided between a driving wheel and an idling wheel with a span extending over at least two steps of the staircase and a motor for driving the crawlers. The wheelchair carrier further incorporates a handle pivotally mounted on the wheelchair carrier for holding a wheelchair, and a pair of wheels, each of which can be lowered from the crawler for carrying the wheelchair on the ground.
However, in the above conventional wheelchair carrier, it is troublesome to change the stair-climbing wheelchair carrier from the condition for climbing stairs to the condition for ground running, and the construction for the change is complicated. The angular position of the wheelchair with respect to the carrier can not be adjusted. Consequently, the wheelchair when held in the carrier could be held at an incline, with the disabled being seated on the chair also at an incline during ascending or descending of the stairs. Therefore the disabled person on the wheelchair may feel uneasy.